


Dancing on my own

by Sparkles436



Series: One-shot Malec pieces inspired by songs [2]
Category: The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drunken Confessions, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:07:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28453602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparkles436/pseuds/Sparkles436
Summary: Set to the song ‘Dancing on my own’ by Calum ScottAlec despairs of ever getting Magnus to see him as anything more than a friend, but one night at a party it all comes to a head.
Relationships: Clary Fray/Jace Wayland (Background Only), Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: One-shot Malec pieces inspired by songs [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2075130
Comments: 16
Kudos: 94





	Dancing on my own

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Years Everybody! I hope this little story finds you all happy, healthy and safe wherever you are in the world. Let’s hope 2021 goes a little easier on us all.

Alec wished he had resisted coming to this party.

He was not a party person. Don’t get him wrong. He liked to have a good time and hang out with friends. He just preferred to do it on a smaller scale than the drunken frat party he was currently walking into.

“Come on, Alec. It’s not going to be that bad,” Jace told him, as he dragged Alec through the door behind him and Izzy, Izzy quickly taking off for parts unknown.

“No, it is. It is going to be that bad. Why am I doing this?” Alec asked his brother, plaintively.

“Because you’re a masochist and can’t help yourself,” Jace distractedly answered, as he looked around for his girlfriend, Clary.

“I’m not a masochist,” Alec responded grumpily, rolling his eyes and pulling away from Jace when he looked back and gave him a disbelieving chuckle.

“Whatever you say, bro.”

“I’m going to go get a drink,” Alec told him with a huff.

As Alec wove his ways through the drunken, gyrating, hormonal bodies, he once again questioned why he was here. However, as he caught sight of a particular head of hair from across the room, he knew his answer.

He was here for him. For Magnus.

He’d been in love with Magnus for just over a year now. Not that it did him any good.

He’d been excited to start University with his twin sister Izzy, and their adopted brother. The three of them had made plans early on to rent a share house together as they would all be taking completely different courses, and they all enjoyed spending time together.

Sharing with his siblings had all helped Alec develop a circle of friends, as he was a little less socially adept than his brother and sister. Once he was introduced to someone and given a common interest to talk about, he was actually quite good at making friends, but he found taking that first step to be terrifying.

He’d met Magnus through Izzy, who had bonded with the glittery man in their second week of school, during one of their many shared classes. He and Magnus had become good friends, often spending time together, either with friends or just with the two of them.

The first day that Izzy had brought home her new friend Magnus, Alec had been spellbound. Having only recently come out, he’d been slightly overwhelmed by the strength of his feelings, not to mention, his bodies response to the other man’s beauty. When Magnus had flirted with him, Alec thought he’d died and gone to heaven.

His heart had cracked later that night when Izzy had told him that she had become friends with Magnus when he’d flirted with her during class. He’d then watched over the next few weeks as Magnus had continued flirting, not just with him, but with everyone. It didn’t take long for Alec to realise that this was just Magnus’s way of relating to people. And if Alec thought he saw something different in the way Magnus flirted with him, well he was sure that was just wishful thinking.

Realising Magnus had so much more experience than him, he began dating too. Not Magnus unfortunately, as he knew he wasn’t in Magnus’s league yet. He did make a point to say yes to any other man who seemed nice and asked him out, wanting to learn how to flirt back successfully. Or at least learn how to become someone good enough to be interesting to Magnus. He never went past a first date, as it was all about gaining experience in the art of flirting and dating. He was happy to leave any physical firsts to be with Magnus if his dreams ever came true.

Last month, he’d followed Isabelle to a party, much like this one, knowing that Magnus would be there. He’d dressed nicely, seeking out Izzy’s approval on his outfit choice, and he’d actually attempted to do something with his hair, however futile the effort turned out to be.

He’d never imagined how the night would turn out.

** Three Weeks Earlier **

“Hi, Magnus!”

“Alexander.”

“You look great, just like always.”

“You look the same as always,” Magnus murmured at him, before casting him a sideways glance.

“Actually you look even better than you usually do. How is that even possible?” Magnus slurred, finally turning to face Alec directly, his weaving frame giving Alec a small indication of just how drunk his crush was.

“So what handsome, stupid man-child are you meeting tonight?” Magnus asked, looking at Alec with disdain.

Alec was unsure exactly what was going on. Magnus was always happy and charming and kind. He was always kind, and even though he wasn’t exactly being unkind now, he wasn’t acting like the Magnus he knew.

“I’m not meeting anyone,” Alec stammered out.

“Oh! Have you finally run out of men to flaunt? What a pity! Poor you!” Magnus said with faux sympathy, patting Alec’s cheek repeatedly with a little more force than was comfortable.

“I, uh, —“

“Anyway, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and find someone more interesting to talk to.”

With that, Magnus walked away, with much less grace than Alec was used to seeing from him, but still more than any drunk person had a right to possess.

** Back to tonight **

Alec hadn’t spoken to Magnus since that night, nor had he told anyone what had happened. He hadn’t been able to stop Jace and Izzy from noticing that something was wrong, but despite their best attempts to pry the truth from him, he had kept it to himself.

He’d tried to let go of his ridiculous fantasy that anything would ever happen between him and Magnus, knowing now that he’d been fooling himself. Someone like Magnus could never be interested in someone like Alec. That encounter at the party had proved that if nothing else.

When Izzy had asked him to come with her and Jace tonight, he’d initially refused. Ultimately though, the pull to see Magnus again had been too much, and he’d caved.

He also needed to see if the rumours were true.

Izzy had come home from school two weeks ago, glowing with fresh gossip about some new girl in her class who had set her sights on Magnus. And apparently, Magnus was loving it.

He’d been unable to stop his imagination running wild, and being on the outs with Magnus was just making it worse. If he could only talk to Magnus, he would know if this was serious, or if Magnus was just enjoying the attention.

But he couldn’t talk to Magnus. Because Magnus had no interest in talking to him. So he was stuck coming to yet another lame frat party to see if it was true.

Taking a sip from the vile liquid he had just filled his cup with, Alec began to make his way through the party, trying to find where his brother and sister had disappeared to. Or possibly to catch another glimpse of Magnus, this time long enough to see if some fawning woman was hanging off his arm.

He managed to find Izzy first, surrounded by friends and adoring admirers as usual.

“Alec! My favourite twin brother!”

“I’m your only twin brother, Iz,” he laughed in response.

“You’re still my favourite,” she told him, throwing an arm over his shoulder.

“What the hell am I? Chopped liver?” Jace asked indignantly, his hand wrapped in that of his new girlfriend Clary’s.

“You’re my favourite non-twin brother!” She gushed.

“I’m telling Max!” Alec and Jace said at the same time, causing everyone around them to laugh, as the brother’s exchanged hi-fives.

“Aren’t you too adorable!” A new voice simpered. Looking around behind him, Alec felt the smile drop off his face as he took in the blonde currently nestled under Magnus’s arm.

“Hi Alexander,” Magnus said quietly, never really looking at Alec as he did so.

“Magnus,” he mumbled in return.

“Magnus! It’s so good to see you!” Izzy screamed, breaking away from her admirers to throw her arms around Magnus. Alec bit back the smile that wanted to break over his face when Izzy’s hug also happened to knock the annoying blonde out from under Magnus’s arm.

“Isabelle, dear. How are you?” Magnus asked, the smile on his face momentarily stealing Alec’s breath.

“I am fabulous! I love school, and I have the two most gorgeous men as my brothers. Don’t you agree they are just gorgeous?” Izzy asked Magnus, dragging Alec and Jace into her arms as she let go of Magnus. Alec was not sure, but he was almost positive that Izzy was dragging him just a little bit further in front than she was Jace.

“You are part of a very attractive family,” Magnus agreed, his eyes flicking quickly between Izzy and Alec, yet still never managing to meet Alec’s eyes.

“Magnus, darling, who are your friends?” The buxom blonde asked a slight bite to her honeyed tones.

“What?” Magnus asked confusedly. He seemed to have briefly forgotten the woman who had come over with him, his confused expression quickly changing to a tight smile as he turned back to her.

“Oh! This is Isabelle Lightwood, and her brothers Jace and Alexander,” Magnus told her, his voice getting progressively quieter as he went.

“Alec,” Alec corrected, holding his hand out to the woman.

“Camille,” she told him, offering the very tips of her fingers to the hand he offered her.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Alec mumbled.

For a moment, no one seemed willing to speak, and an uncomfortable silence settled briefly on the group. As one of Izzy’s admirers grabbed hold of her attention, others slowly began to talk again, only Alec, Magnus and Camille remained silent. Alec and Magnus simply stood around, awkwardly avoiding each other’s eyes, as Camille looked shrewdly between the two.

“How have you been, Alexander?” Magnus asked softly, all the while looking over at Jace and Clary who were exchanging soft kisses and quiet words.

“Fine, thanks. You?”

“Good,” Magnus answered. There were another few seconds of silence, before, out of the corner of his eye, Alec saw Magnus finally look up at him directly. As the other man opened his mouth to speak, Camille quickly spoke up, retaking her hold on Magnus’s arm as she did so.

“Come dance with me, Magnus. It’s so boring just standing around here.”

“Oh, ok, sure,” Magnus answered, turning to Camille with a quick smile.

Alec watched as the two of them moved over to the centre of the room were lots of couples were currently dancing and pressing up against each other. Alec watched sadly as Magnus and Camille joined them, Camille pressing up against Magnus like she was trying to absorb him.

“Come on, brother. You’re dancing with your siblings,” Izzy told him grabbing hold of her brothers’ arms and dragging them with her to the dance floor, Clary and a couple of others following along with her.

Alec smiled gently at his sister’s back as she pulled him along, even if secretly, he just wanted to go home and cry. That urge became even harder to resist when he found his small group dancing quite close to where Camille was hanging all over Magnus.

For a short time, he let his siblings cheer him up. He’d always enjoyed dancing, and for a little while, he was able to just let go of his disappointment that the rumours were true. A little more than an hour later, though, and he was more than ready to go home.

Taking a break from dancing, he’d gone to get one last drink, and upon returning, had seen Magnus pressed into a corner, he and Camille wrapped in a passionate embrace.

Coming to an abrupt stop, Alec closed his eyes in horror. Not able to take another second of seeing Magnus in the arms of another person, Alec turned blindly on the spot, only opening his eyes when he was facing away from them. Pushing his way through the throng of people, Alec stumbled outside, desperately looking for a single place that wasn’t populated by either drunk’s throwing up or more couples to remind him he was alone.

Finally finding a small bench at the far end of the lawn, Alec sank down onto it, his back to the party, and tried to gather himself. The pain of knowing he’d finally lost Magnus, overwhelmed him, his chest heaving noisily as he tried to catch his breath.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d sat there, trying to gather the strength he needed to get himself home when he suddenly heard his voice.

“Alexander?”

Hastily wiping his eyes of the tears he’d only just realised had fallen, he turned around to see Magnus standing hesitantly behind him, still not quite meeting his eyes.

“Do you mind?” Magnus asked, pointing gently at the empty spot on the bench beside Alec.

“No, it’s fine,” Alec answered softly, turning back to face forward, as Magnus walked around the bench and sat down quietly beside him.

“You left the party,” Magnus told his softly, a hint of a question in his voice.

“Yeah, I wasn’t really liking the atmosphere of the party too much, so I decided to step outside for a while,” Alec told him.

“Ah, ok.”

Alec sat silently, hating the awkwardness that was suddenly between them.

“How have you been?” Magnus asked quietly after another few minutes had passed.

“You asked that inside,” Alec reminded him.

“Right. That’s right.”

“Where’s Camille?” Alec asked

“Probably finding some other guy to attack and drool all over,” Magnus said shyly. “She wasn’t too impressed when I pushed her away when she tried to kiss me.”

Alec briefly considered just getting up and walking away as silence descended again, not sure what to make of Magnus’s confession. Before he could come to a firm decision, Magnus spoke again.

“Alec, I’m sorry.”

Not sure he’d actually heard what he thought he heard, Alec, whipped his head around to look at Magnus. He was shocked when he saw Magnus looking over at him from under his lashes, tears welling in his eyes, and regret all over his face.

“You’re sorry?” He asked. “For what?”

At Alec’s question, Magnus cocked his head sadly, causing one of the tears to fall down his cheek.

“What I said, last time we saw each other. I’m sorry, I was in a really bad place, and I took it out of you, and that is unforgivable.”

“Are you ok?” Alec asked, suddenly concerned.

“Am I ok?” Magnus asked in disbelief.

“I was a complete asshole to you, and you want to know if I” m ok?”

“You said you were in a bad place,” Alec explained.

“God, Alexander! Could you stop being so Goddamn perfect!” Magnus shouted, standing up suddenly and turning to Alec with a pleading look on his face.

“Excuse me?” Alec asked, not knowing what the hell was going on.

“You’re fucking perfect! And it’s all the fucking time! You’re sweet all the time, and smart all the time, and funny and kind and you’re fucking gorgeous all the time! How am I supposed to get over you, when you’re so fucking perfect!” Magnus all but shouted at him.

“Get over me?” Alec asked, his mind unable to focus on anything but that one detail.

“What?” Magnus asked, suddenly looking panicked.

“You asked how you were supposed to get over me,” Alec repeated, staring straight up at Magnus, not daring to hope that what was happening, was actually happening.

“Uh, yeah. I’m not sure why I said that. I’m sorry. I’m going to go,” Magnus said rapidly, stumbling over his words in his rush to get them out, as he began to briskly walk away.

Not wanting to let go of the first ray of hope he’d seen, that a relationship with Magnus was actually possible, Alec threw caution to the wind and yelled out the only thing he thought might make Magnus stop.

“I’m in love with you!”

Alec felt his heart start pounding as Magnus came to a dead stop in the middle of his escape, before slowly turning around.

“What did you just say?” Magnus almost whispered.

“I’m in love with you,” Alec repeated. “I have been all year,” he told him with a crooked smile, desperately searching Magnus’s face for any hint that he felt the same way.

He felt that hope start to bloom when a tremulous smile broke over Magnus’s face, and more tears fell out of eyes that now lit up happily.

“I love you, too!” Magnus confessed before quickly moving back to Alec and pulling him into his arms.

“I love you, I love you, I love you.” Magnus repeated into Alec’s neck where he had currently buried his face.

“I love you too,” Alec replied happily, unable to quite believe that all this was real.

As Magnus pulled back slightly, Alec let his eyes feast over the beauty that was the man in front of him, only getting a second before he was being pulled in for the most amazing kiss of his life.

He felt himself melt as Magnus’s lips moved gently over his, moaning into the kiss as he felt Magnus’s tongue lick gently over his bottom lip, tenderly requesting entrance into Alec’s mouth, a request Alec was happy to grant.

After a few minutes, the two of them pulled back, chests heaving as they rested their foreheads together, unwilling to separate more than necessary.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Magnus asked, hopefully.

“Yes, absolutely yes,” Alec answered with a soft smile.

As a wide smile broke out over Magnus’s face, he reached down and grasped Alec’s hand, and they began to walk back to Alec’s place. They’d only gone a few steps though, when Magnus pulled Alec to a stop, a nervous expression on his face.

“This is for real, right Alec? This isn’t some one-time thing, where next week I’m stuck watching you date other people from afar again, right?” Magnus asked, vulnerability causing his voice to shake slightly.

“Magnus, the only reason I dated anyone else, is because I didn’t want to be this dating virgin who didn’t know how to flirt when I finally got the courage to ask you out,” Alec confessed.

“You went out with other men so that you could go out with me?” Magnus confirmed, confusedly.

“I didn’t know how to flirt, and you were really, really good at it,” Alec said nervously, unsure if he was suddenly ruining everything.

“You are amazing, Alexander,” Magnus said with a wide smile.

“Really?” Alec asked in disbelief.

“Absolutely,” Magnus told him.

“You know I never went further than a simple good night kiss, right? I wanted everything to be with you,” Alec told him bashfully.

“Really?”

“Really. This isn’t some one-time thing Magnus. I want this, and I want it for as long as you’ll let me have it,” Alec told him solemnly.

“How’s forever sound?” Magnus asks quietly, looking up at Alec through his lashes, in a manner, Alec found absolutely captivating.

“That sounds perfect,” Alec responds as the two of them begin walking again, their hands grasped tightly between them, their bodies pressed close. As they walked, they murmured quietly about their future. Together.

**Author's Note:**

> I use short stories to help with moments of writers block during my bigger chapter stories, so if you have a song you want turned into a little story, let me know in the comments and I’ll see what I can do.  
> Constructive criticism is welcomed but please be kind.  
> Comments and kudo’s fuel my passion to keep writing so drop one below if you haven’t already.


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